Festive bikers spread Christmas joy in annual Toy Run

Even Ebenezer Scrooge would have felt a tingle of Christmas joy at the Toy Run.

More than 1,700 motorcyclists dressed in festive outfits and rode from Shinfield to Barnardo’s High Close School in Wokingham to deliver sackfuls of presents in the 27th Toy Run.

Hordes of people lining the street to cheer them on, and with so many dressing up and decorating their bikes

Reading Christian Bikers organises the seven mile ride from Shinfield to Barnardo’s High Close School, in Wiltshire Road, Wokingham and there are always

On arrival at the school, which offers residential care for children with leaning difficulties, the riders donate toys, gift vouchers and books to Barnardo’s, most of which go to children at High Close.

Colette Hamilton, a teacher at the school, says the generosity allows her to teach. She said: “Without this event and these people's help, I wouldn’t be able to do my job because it all goes to the children, every gift and every penny.

“We use it all as an incentive scheme to get these children engaged in their learning when they’ve always been so disengaged before.”

The mountains of presents will now be split between High Close School and other charities, making these children’s Christmases unforgettable.